The Swedish Fish Excerpts (On Whether or Not God is a Perfect being)

“If God was perfect, and benevolent, then he’d answer all of those people’s prayers, he’d heal the sick, and he’d work a few miracles to avoid all the needless suffering and a perfect being who was all loving couldn't, by his own nature, permit suffering (this objection is known as the Problem of Evil).” –The Swedish Fish (p. 200)

“Perfection literally amounts to that which has no flaws. In the previous chapter I raised the question of whether or not a perfect being would ever get lonely or seek adoration and exaltation. The reason for raising these concerns is that one who seeks to be exalted above all things would be considered vain, which is a character flaw I find, and so such a person could not be considered entirely perfect.

Similarly, a person who suffers bouts of loneliness and desires companionship would not be perfectly content, and so could not be perfect due to the necessity of having to seek out companionship in order to be pleased. Unable to be satisfied with the way things are could also be seen as an imperfection, in the same way that old wives who nag constantly about their husband’s imperfections can never be satisfied until the hapless man changes into the husband they want him to be.

It stems to reason a perfect being would be perfectly content and would therefore desire nothing and could, at any time, seek to make his ideal vision of existence come true without expressing any weaknesses in his character.” –The Swedish Fish (p. 209)

“If God was a perfect being, a personal being, and a loving being, his perfect foreknowledge would alert him to the fact that people would go to hell based on his allowance of free will, and if so, his perfect love would prevent him from allowing this unfortunate series of events. As a perfect being, God could not go against his perfect nature. Therefore logic dictates that a perfect being would have done away with either free will or the doctrine of original sin.” –The Swedish Fish (p.233-34)